1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a display shelving system. More specifically, the invention relates to a modular wire-rack display having a plurality of interlocking units. Each interlocking unit has two pairs of L-shaped receiving tabs for attaching to adjacent units.
2. Description of Related Art
Retail display shelving commonly used in grocery stores, department stores, discount stores, and other retail outlets that display items on shelves, are manufactured by numerous companies in a plethora of models and design choices. The units that are typically found in a grocery store to display items for sale, such as bags of salty snacks, are typically self-contained with multiple shelves.
Although there are variations amongst the units offered by different manufacturing companies, the basic design is fairly well established, and there are many common features shared industry wide. In the prior art, a common display apparatus is a gondola-type unit, which typically has a back panel vertically oriented and held in position by connection to at least one upright, which is also vertically oriented. The connection to the upright is accomplished by at least a bottom rail, a center rail, and a top rail, although more horizontal rails can be used for this purpose. The vertical uprights are stabilized by at least one, and typically two, base legs or brackets. One or more shelves can be horizontally positioned in numerous locations relative to the back panel by virtue of connections between the shelf and the uprights. A base deck or shelf is maintained off of the surface upon which the entire unit sits by being supported by the base brackets. A closed base front encloses the space beneath the base deck in conjunction with the base deck and base bracket trim, when said base and trim also covers the base brackets. The gondola unit may have other trim components, such as the upright and trim, which cover the upright. A disadvantage of such a gondola system is that the shelves cannot be moved to different positions or locations while carrying product. Thus, every time a shelf is to be moved, all product must be unloaded, the shelf must be moved, and the product must be restocked. A similar problem is shared with many prior art wire-rack display systems. It would be desirable to have a single unit with shelves and/or units that could be easily moved without removing product.
Many existing modular wire-rack units require accessory items—such as binding clips, nuts and bolts, or other connecting members—in order to join adjacent units. This is undesirable, as such connecting members are separate from the wire-rack units and are thus easily lost. Furthermore, if one's wire-rack units are likely to be rearranged in the future, any extra connecting members must be stored apart from the wire-rack units for possible future use. Another disadvantage is that separate connecting members may offer inter-unit links that are relatively weak, easily broken, and/or easily removed. It would be desirable for each wire-rack unit to have integrated connecting members for robustness and ease of use.
Few, if any, prior art nodular wire-rack units are capable of gravity-fed product display. As product is removed from the front of a stocked gravity-fed shelf or unit, the next product in line tends to slide down to take the removed-product's place at the lower, front end of the shelf or unit. This provides the consumer with the clean, organized appearance of a fully-stocked product display. It would therefore be desirable for a modular wire-rack display unit to have a gravity-fed product display.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one example of a prior art, modular wire-rack unit 100. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of several of the prior art units shown in FIG. 1 stacked vertically. The depicted wire-rack unit 100 has a top surface defined by top-surface wire members 10, a bottom surface defined by bottom-surface wire members 20, two sides and a back surface defined by vertical corner wire members 30. Lateral supporting wire members 22 and lateral label-supporting wire members 26 provide surfaces for several attaching label holders 40. Additional support is offered by bottom longitudinal wire members 24 and vertical supporting wire members 32. If desired, the unit 100 can be attached to the wall using wall-mounting tabs. Note that the bottom surface is level (horizontal). Because the bottom surface is not sloped, it is not capable of gravity-fed product display. This can be undesirable and difficult for consumers trying to reach product at the back of the unit, especially if the unit is on or near the ground. Moreover, the prior art wire-rack unit 100 does not have any built-in joining or attaching mechanisms. Thus, accessory connectors, such as wire clips, binding collars, etc., must be obtained and applied to join adjacent units.
Nothing in the prior art addresses the problem associated with changing the position of a wire-rack display unit without first removing the product. A need also exists for each wire-rack unit to have integrated connecting members for robustness and ease of use. Furthermore, a need exists for a modular wire-rack display system capable of gravity-fed product display. The present invention fills these needs and other needs as detailed more fully below.